Dual purpose drum



Aug. 9, 1966 R. A. FISCHETTI DUAL PURPOSE DRUM Filed Aug. 2, 1965 m u M m I .p

INVENTOR.

a Q\ SE ROCCO' A. FISCHETTI ATTOR EY United States Patent 3,264,927 DUAL PURPOSE DRUM Rocco A. Fischetti, 1060 39th St, Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,552 6 Claims. (Cl. 84-411) This invention relates generally to drum constructions, and isespecially concerned with snare drums.

As is well know to those versed in the art, conventional snare drums have heretofore employed external snares in a manner permitting the use of only a single drumming surface.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a highly improved drum construction wherein both, opposite sides or surfaces of the drum may be used, one being for snare-drumeffects.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a unique drum construction wherein a snare drum may :be combined with a practice pad or drumming rubber, all in a single drum structure.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved drum construction wherein a snare drum may be combined with a practice pad or drumming rubber in a single drum structure, and wherein the snares may be selectively employed or moved out of operative position to a nonuse position, as desired.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a drum construction having the advantageous characteristics mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, which is extremely simple in structure, durable and reliable throughout a long useful life, and which can be economically manufactured for sale at a reasonable price.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal or diametrical sectional view taken through a drum constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 2-2 of 'FIGURE 1, partially broken away to conserve drawing space;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic elevational view taken generally along the line 33 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a partial sectional view, greatly enlarged, taken generally along the line 44 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a drum is there generally designated 10, and includes a generally cylindrical, open-ended body 11. Extending circumferentially about the exterior of the cylindrical body 11, at the lower end thereof as seen in FIGURE 1, is a band 12. A flexible drumming sheet or skin 13 extends entirely across the lower end of body 11, closing the latter, and has its peripheral margin 14 circumposed about the band 12. An annular holding ring or hoop 115 extends about the lower end of cylindrical body 11, overlying the marginal portion of sheet :13 and holding the latter firmly against the lower end of the body, as will appear presently.

On the other end of the cylindrical body 11, the upper end as seen in FIGURE 1, additional drumming means may assume the form of a general-1y circular sheet 18 extending entirely across and closing the upper body end. The sheet 18 may advantageously be fabricated of plastic material of substantial thickness, say acrylic plastic on the order of about A" thick, say plus or minus A Patented August 9, 1966 A practice drumming pad or drumming rubber 19, which may be of circular external configuration, may be cemented or adhesively secured centrally of and in facing engagement with the external surface of sheet 18. A suitable drumming rubber has been found to be on the order of /2" thick, plus or minus Ms", in association with the above-described sheet. An annular holding ring or hoop 20 is circumposed about the upper end of cylindrical body 11, as shown in FIGURE 1, and overlies the peripheral margin of sheet 18, serving to clamp the latter against the upper end of the cylindrical body. That is, a plurality of circumferentially spaced tie members 21 are arranged externally about the cylindrical body 11, extending longitudinally thereof, between the rings or hoops 15 and 20. Each tie member 21 may be threaded and provided with an adjustment nut 22 for firmly holding the rings 15 and 20 in the above-described clamping relation.

In addition, extending diametrically across the interior of the cylindrical body 11, adjacent to the interior surface of flexible sheet 13, are a plurality of snares 25. The snares 25 may be of conventional construction, say elongate elements of catgut, wire, or the like. The snares 25 are best seen in FIGURE 4 as comprising a group of gen erally parallel elongate elements. One end of the plurality or group of snares 2:5 is secured to a holder 26, say in the form of a generally rectangular plate, which is in turn tied or otherwise connected, as by a cord 27, to a bracket 28 secured fast to the inner surface .of the cylindrical body 11. The bracket 28 may include a generally flat plate 29 having a through hole or slot 30 and formed at one end with a hook 31. The plate is secured in fast facing engagement with the inner surface of the body 11, as by a fastener or screw 32, and oriented with the hook 3=1 proximate to the sheet 13. The holder 26 is connected by the tie means 27 to the book 31 to maintain the adjacent ends of the snares 25 proximate to the inner surface of the sheet 13.

Generally diametrically opposite to the holder 26, relative to the cylindrical body 11, is located a similar platelike holder 33 secured to the opposite end of the group or plurality of snares 25. A bracket 34, generally similar to the bracket 28, includes a generally flat plate portion 35 terminating in a hook 36 adjacent to the sheet 13. The holder 33 is secured, as by a cord 37 to the hook 36. However, the bracket 34 is mounted in the cylindrical body III for selective adjustment toward and away from the sheet 13 by manual actuation from exteriorly of the drum 10.

More particularly, a casing or box 40 is mounted in the wall of body 11 diametrically opposite to the bracket 28 and projects externally beyond the body wall. On the inner side of the casing 40, interiorly of the body 11 there is provided a guideway 41 in the nature of a dovetail groove extending longitudinally of the cylindrical body and slidably receiving the plate 35 of bracket 34. The bracket 34 is thus mounted for shifting movement toward and away from the sheet 13, as between the solid and phantom positions shown in FIGURE 2. An angle piece 42 is fixedly secured to the bracket 34, as by a fastener 43 and includes an arm 44 projecting generally radially of the body 11 outward into the housing 40. Resilient means, such as tension spring 45 may be connected between the arm 44 and the housing 40 to urge the arm and its associated bracket 34 upward, as seen in FIGURE 2, toward the sheet 13. An eccentric cam 46 may be mounted in the housing 40, say in the outer wall thereof for engagement with the arm 44. Upon rotation of cam 46, by its eccentric or ovaloid configuration, see FIGURE 3, the arm 44 is displaced different distances from the plane of sheet 13. Thus, in the solid-line position of FIGURE 2 the arm 44 has moved upward against the cam 46 to locate the bracket 34 in its upward position with the snares 25 in operative adjacent relation with the sheet 13, While the phantom position illustrates the cam 46 rotated to displace the arm 44 downward and shift the bracket 34 and the snares 25 downward to an inoperative position relative to the sheet 13. This shifting movement of snares 25 may be manually efiected from externally of the drum by the provision of an arm 47 connected at one end to the rotatable cam 46 for rotating the latter by swinging of the arm, as between the solid and phantom positions shown in FIGURES '1 and 3.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides its own construction which may be employed as a snare drum, may also be employed as a drum without snare effects, and may be further employed as a practice pad by use of the drumming means 18 and 19, and which further fully accomplishes its intended objects. It has been found that the particular practice pad disclosed, that of rubber on acrylic is highly advantageous in producing a better sound efiect than conventional practice pads.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A drum construction comprising a cylindrical openended body, a flexible dnumming sheet extending across and closing one end of said body, snares in said body extending across the inner side of said flexible drumming sheet, a first snare-supporting bracket fixed to said body and connected to one end of said snares, a second snaresupporting bracket connected to the other end of said snares, a slideway mounted in said body adjacent to said second snare-supporting bracket and extending longitudinally of said body, said second snare-supporting bracket being slidable in said slideway for back-and-forth movement of said snares toward and away from said drumming sheet, resilient means connected between said body and second snare-supporting bracket urging the latter in its direction of movement toward said drumming sheet, an eccentric cam carried by said body for rotation about an axis generally parallel to said drumming sheet, a cam follower carried by said second snare-supporting bracket in following engagement with said cam to effect said backand-forth movement upon rotation of said cam, and additional drumming means extending across and closing the other end of said body.

2. A drum construction according to claim 1, in combination with actuating means connected to said cam and extending exteriorly of said body for elfecting manual rotation of said cam.

3. A drum construction according to claim 1, said additional drumming means comprising a drumming rubber.

4. A drum construction according to claim -1, said additional drumming means comprising a plastic sheet extending in closing relation across said other body end, and a drumming rubber adhesively secured in facing engagement with the exterior of said plastic sheet centrally thereof.

5. A drum construction according to claim 4, said plastic sheet being of acrylic material on the order of A" thick.

6. A drum construction according to claim 5, said drumming rubber being on the order of /2 thick.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,693 11/1896 Bemis 84-417 2,078,004 4/1937 Lebow 84- 411 2,495,896 1/ 1950' Jeffries 84417 2,565,225 8/1951 Gladstone S -411 FOREIGN PATENTS 373,414 4/ 1923 Germany.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

LEO SMILOW, Examiner.

CHARLES M. OVERBEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DRUM CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL OPENENDED BODY, A FLEXIBLE DRUMMING SHEET EXTENDING ACROSS AND CLOSING ONE END OF SAID BODY, SNARES IN SAID BODY EXTENDING ACROSS THE INNER SIDE OF SAID FLEXIBLE DRUMMING SHEET, A FIRST SNARE-SUPPORTING BRACKET FIXED TO SAID BODY AND CONNECTED TO ONE END OF SAID SNARES, A SECOND SNARESUPPORTING BRACKET CONNECTED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID SNARES, A SLIDEWAY MOUNTED IN SAID BODY ADJACENT TO SAID SECOND SNARE-SUPPORTING BRACKET AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BODY, SAID SECOND SNARE-SUPPORTING BRACKET BEING SLIDABLE IN SAID SLIDEWAY FOR BACK-AND-FORTH MOVEMENT OF SAID SNARES TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID DRUMMING SHEET, RESILIENT MEANS CONNECTED URGING THE LATTER IN ITS SECOND SNARE-SUPPORTING BRACKET URGING THE LATTER IN ITS DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT TOWARD SAID DRUMMING SHEET, AN ECCENTRIC CAM CARRIED BY SAID BODY FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID DRUMMING SHEET, A CAM FOLLOWER CARRIED BY SAID SECOND SNARE-SUPPORTING BRACKET IN FOLLOWING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM TO EFFECT SAID BACKAND-FORTH MOVEMENT UPON ROTATION OF SAID CAM, AND ADDITIONAL DRUMMING MEANS EXTENDING ACROSS AND CLOSING THE OTHER END OF SAID BODY. 